Goodbye
by Bon Bon
Summary: The APTX-4869 is finally fixed to do its deadly task...


Goodbye

"Wasn't the movie great?" asked Genta.

"It was alright," replied Conan.

Mitsuhiko added his opinion, "The way Godzilla tore down the police station was awesome!"

"Conan," Ayumi asked, "Do you want to go get something to eat, like ice cream?"

"No," replied he, "I'm not hungry. Besides, I have the cold again."

Ai said, "I think I should go home now. I'm tired."

Conan added, "Me, too! I didn't do my homework yet."

"Alright," the three other Detective Boy members said. They went their own ways.

Conan and Ai walked in the direction of Dr. Agasa and Shinichi's house. No conversation broke between them. There was certainly nothing to talk about. What can they say? There was still a long way from their houses. Conan was supposed to go back to Ran's but for some odd reason, he didn't. He followed Ai. As they turned a corner, slowly inching towards their house, a black Rolls Royce came at full speed towards them. 

They didn't know what was happening. It was the Black Organization. They tried to run away, but Vodka was great at driving the car. The two was very close to reaching the fork at the end of the road. If they could get there, they could split and the car can't go both ways. A few more steps would take them to the intersection, but Ai had slipped suddenly just as Gin had fired a shot at them. It was supposedly aimed for Ai, but since she slipped, Conan, who was in front of her, caught the bullet in his backside. He collapsed to the ground in a heap. Ai reached his side and tried to pick him up. 

"Leave me!" Conan yelled, "I won't be much use even if I can walk. They'll just catch up to you. GO!" 

"But…"Ai complained. She didn't like the idea of letting Conan slip into the hands of the Black Organization. The car was almost there when she was forced to leave. "I'll come back for you! Don't worry!" Ai yelled in her haste to get away from the scene.

The black, devilish-looking Rolls Royce stopped near his head. Conan was almost unconscious by then. All that he could remember was that he saw Vodka come out of the car to pick him up. Then he was thrown into the back passengers' seat. Conan could do nothing to retaliate. All he could do was to accept that truth peacefully, at that time anyways. Then, the organization drove away.

Ai couldn't stop thinking of Conan. Did she do the right thing by leaving him? What if they had something evil planned for Conan? Wouldn't she be guilty for the rest of her life? Ai stopped running. If she were one of the targets of the organization, she would die anyways. Why bother running? Other questions began to float into Ai's mind. What is she going to do? With nowhere to go and no answers to her questions, she decided to turn back to Dr. Agasa's home.

Conan lay unconscious for some hours now. He was just waking up from his wound. He found that it was aching really badly, but he could do nothing. He took in his surroundings as he sat on a chair, bounded with rope and gagged with a cloth. He was in a room of some sort, without a window. He has no idea the passing of time. He doesn't know what day it is or what time it is. Conan just feels hungry. The room he was in was dirty, perhaps not even lived in for 4 years. There was a lot of dust accumulating on the desks and bunk beds. That was all. His chair, two wooden desks and an old double deck bunk bed. Nothing else. He didn't even know why Vodka decided to take him. He has no use to them. He doesn't know any scientific formulas or secrets. What do they want of him? Conan felt a slight tickling sensation near his back. He found out it was bleeding again. He knew he needed to stop the blood, perhaps even a surgery. If he doesn't get medical help soon, he'll probably just die of blood loss. 

Ai had told Dr. Agasa of the encounter with Gin and Vodka and how they shot Conan and took him. Ai was probably frightened for the first time in her life, even though it's not even her life that she's afraid of. 

Dr. Agasa says, "Ai. This is very serious. It seems to me that Conan might need help right away, and I'm not just saying to save him from the hands of Gin, but I mean that he needs help on his wound. It sounds really dangerous, maybe he might even lose his life…" 

Ai replied, "I know that. That's why I need your help. Should we call the police or just tell Korogo? Even if we DO tell Korogo, he can't do anything. He's a useless detective. What good will he do to help Conan? We don't even know where to start. Where did they hide him? What are they going to do to him?" Ai suddenly felt she wanted to cry. Then, her cell phone rang. Thinking that it might be Conan and that he had escaped successfully on his own, she picked it up. 

"Hello," she said. 

"Hello, Sherry or should I say Ai?" said the man. Then he boomed into laughter. 

"Gin…" Ai seemed to growl into the speaker like a dog does to a stranger. "What have you done with the boy?" 

Gin began again, "The boy? Conan, you call him? Well, I guess we situated him into a room where he'll peacefully meet his death soon…" Again he laughed. 

Ai began to feel her anger rise within her. "Release the boy! He has no use to you! If you want me, come get me!" She yelled. 

"Oh," he said, "I have nothing I want from the boy. It's you I want." 

"What?" she gasped. She didn't understand. "Then wouldn't it be easier if you captured me instead?" Yet, his laugh broke the silence. 

"Oh, dear me, Sherry. Have you changed so much? Your mouth is like a vice that never opens. Nothing will open that mouth of yours. Nothing, except the boy…" 

Ai knew Gin had caught her weak spot, and she knew he was intended not to let go. "Go ahead, Gin. I'm listening."

"Ah!" Gin exclaims. "Well, Sherry, that's great. I see you've put down your old ways. What I want is simple. What I want doesn't cost you as much as the boy does to you. What I want is…"

Ai Haibara was in shock as she hung up. Dr. Agasa didn't know what was going on. "Tell me what Gin told you, Ai! Ai! Ai! Are you listening?" She certainly wasn't. She was in shock of what Gin wanted. He wanted the last ingredients for the APTX-4869 to work properly. In exchange, she'll get back Conan, dead or alive, in one piece. She knew she couldn't leave Conan dead for sure, but she can't give the Black Organization the last things to finish the APTX-4869's evil purpose. It was made to kill people. Many people, if the drug will work. "To exchange the death of many people, I'll only get Conan, one out or the many who may die…" She pondered what to do. Dr. Agasa was still struggling to get the information out of Ai, but, like Gin had described, her mouth is like a vice that never opens…

Ai had finally decided to give it to them. But first, she had to figure out what the materials are supposed to be. She was in the lab for a whole day before she finally emerged the next morning. She had made a powder that will kill. To emphasize the purpose, she brought out the ten lab mice that were her test dummies for the drug. They were, of course, all dead. As if the Black Organization knew, the cell phone rang. Ai picked it up. "Speak."

"Ah, Sherry. Have you made up your mind yet? The drug or the boy?" It was Gin's voice once again. 

Ai spoke, "I have all that you want. But how will I know the boy's still alive? Let him speak."   
  


"Oh, Sherry are you in that much of a hurry? Fine, I'll let him speak." Then she heard the groaning of Conan. He was alive still. But for how long, she didn't know.

"Alright, Gin. How shall we exchange?" Ai asked. She still didn't want to give the tested drug to them. It was a dangerous gamble. 

"You know where we did all our dealings. The old place. We'll be there. Today at noon." Then, Gin hung up. 

Sherry, or Ai, still hadn't told Dr. Agasa about anything. But now, the time was ripe. She had to tell. Dr. Agasa was fixing one of his inventions when Ai said she wanted to talk. "Finally," he had said. Ai told him everything, but she talked around the part where she had to exchange it with the real APTX-4869. She replaced it with, "Some information that was important to them, but it's not really important to me." 

Dr. Agasa had offered to drive her there, just as she wanted. They both got in the car. About 15 minutes before noon, she told Dr. Agasa to wait near a bus stop. From here, she would go on alone. Dr. Agasa was about to object with the idea, but thought better of it. As Ai proceeded towards the old dealing place, she suddenly held back and didn't want to exchange it. But deep inside, she cared for Conan so much that she didn't care what happens to the world, just as long as Conan's all right. She resumed her walking. 

She reached the place where Gin had wanted her to go. On her back was a pack that had everything he wanted: the final ingredients for the APTX-4869. Vodka and Gin were already waiting in the parking lot. It was virtually empty except a few cars and themselves. "I have it Gin." She said. Ai looked around. There was no Black Rolls Royce and most importantly, no Conan. "Where is he?"

Gin smiled maliciously. "The boy is somewhere safe, perhaps. Give me the drug and I'll tell you where he is. His finger pressed the button on the control. The garage door of the parking lot closed. There was no escape. Gin was intended to get it. 

"Since there's no escape," Shiho says, "Why don't you tell me where he is?" She tried to wriggle the hiding place from Gin's lips, but ended with nothing except heightening his anger. 

"Give the bag to me, Sherry. I'll give you the address of where we put him." Gin said, but his face showed no lingering effects of the smile. He meant business. 

"Here," Sherry said as she threw him the pack. "Take the white, oval one. The formula is written inside with its measurements. I've made some extra powder for you already." 

Out of nowhere, Gin produced a white laboratory mouse. It's tiny shriek sounded like nothing in the empty expanse. Vodka made the mouse eat the drug. It took a few moments for the drug to work its magic. Instead of shrinking like the untested drug did, the mouse lay wriggling with the ring of death slowly closing on its tiny body. Within an instant, it lay still. Gin's horrible smile was replaced. "I see you've kept your end of the bargain. Here is ours." Vodka threw her an envelope with an address. "Don't stop now, Sherry. Your mission has just begun." Then they left. 

Ai picked up the envelope and went back to Dr. Agasa. She had him drive them to the address on the paper inside. It was an apartment building. On the sheet, there was a secret code for them to enter the building. She entered the number and stepped through the door. She went up to the 21st floor and went to Block D. She took the key out of the envelope and put it in the doorknob. Ai turned the key twice before pushing the door open. She stepped inside, along with Dr. Agasa. She checked all the rooms, except one, the master's bedroom. She turned the knob and opened the door. Sure enough, there was Conan, bounded and gagged. But was shocked her the most was the wires. "Oh my God…." Ai exclaimed. Dr. Agasa went out for help as soon as he saw what was happening.

Gin and Vodka's good gift to Ai was to attach a bomb to Conan. Ai was stunned to see it. Conan was semi-conscious but woke up instantly when he saw her. "Ai…" he said weakly. Ai knelt down beside him and finally let all the sorrow out. She told him how she knew where he was and the exchange. "Ai," Conan said, "You shouldn't have done that. I'm as good as dead now anyways. I only have…" He glanced down at the bomb. "I only have 10 more minutes to live before it goes off. You don't know how to disassemble bombs anyways. I'll be blown to smithereens." 

Dr. Agasa came back along with the bomb squad. They told everybody to clear out of the apartment, from Floor 1 to 25. They tried to pull Ai away but she held on as if hanging on for dear life. They left her be. The squad tried to disassemble the bomb but time was working against them. 8 minutes…7 minutes….6…..5……4……3…..2 minutes left and they still haven't gotten Conan free. "GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!" Conan yelled at Ai, knowing that he'll die. 

"I won't leave you!" Ai cried back!

Conan shouted in anger, "We've been through this before. I'm going to die and I can't escape it. You still can! Get out of here

"CONAN! Don't you know that I know I had made that choice before? I've made a bad one last time and I'm not going to do it twice. I'm not leaving unless you're there with me." Ai was shrieking and crying at the same time.

"Ai, please," Conan tried to reason with her, "Leave me be. I know what's going to happen to me but what the future holds for you is uncertain. You can live a long happy life without me."

"CONAN YOU IDIOT! Don't you know how much I care about you?! The only reason I gave up the lives of so many people for the drug in exchange for you was because I love you! Don't you know how much I love you!? I've been denying it day and night but it hadn't worked! I'm not backing out this time. If you're going to die this day, I'm willing to share death with you!"

Conan didn't reply. He couldn't. What can he say? 

:20

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They were still in the building.

:14

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:01

BOOM! The bomb went off. 

It wasn't what Ai had wanted. They had barely escaped with their lives. Conan was sent to the hospital with serious injuries including infection to the gun wound and numerous blood loss. But they had cheated death and Gin and Vodka. But how many lucky turns in life will they have? They won't know.


End file.
